The Aftermath
by fatejumper
Summary: Snippets of moments with Wanda coming to terms with her mistakes, losing a loved one, and what it means to be an Avenger and gain a family in return. Wanda-centric.
1. Chapter 1

**The ****Aftermath**

One moment Wanda was blasting the robots away from the generator and the next, she could feel the ice cold grip of death around her heart. A strangled gasp caught in the back of her throat as she suddenly felt the pain of a thousand suns coursing through her body - her mind instantly identifying the source.

Pietro.

Her eyes widened as she felt her connection with Pietro grow dim, the primal emotion of panic and fear seizing her clarity. With an anguished cry, Wanda reached out with her thoughts to her brother pleading, praying for any response back. When Wanda began to feel their link between each other start to fray, she could feel her powers begin to build up around her.

The fact that her powers fed off of her emotions was an afterthought.

Wanda cried out to Pietro telepathically once more, the tears that had welled in her eyes streaking down her cheeks. When she felt the faintest reply, she let out a gasp of hope - only to freeze when she felt their linkage fully snap.

The pain she felt in that moment surpassed all the torture and experimentation she endured from Strucker. Her heart felt as though and ice pick had stabbed through it, the effects of it's coldness permeating through her blood. Her whole body became weighed down, heavy as the reality of her brother no longer being in this world descended upon her like a truck.

As the surge of despair, and loss came to Wanda in a wave, she let out a roar filled with all that she felt, falling to her knees. The culmination of her emotions released the pent up force of her powers, decimating the circle of Ultron's robots that sought the generator. Choked sobs escaped her as she held herself and rocked back and forth on her knees.

Pietro was gone. He was her only family left on this Earth, and now he was gone. And it was all because of -

Out of the corner of Wanda's red rimmed eyes, she spotted a projectile descending from the sky it's form a familiar shape. She watched it crash into a destroyed subway a good distance away and clenched her jaw, knowing full well of who it was.

Ultron. He was the cause of all this. He had killed her brother. He was to blame.

Rage ignited in her stomach as Wanda pushed herself to her feet, eyes glowing red. She paused in her action to move forward when she saw the man wielding the hammer called Thor come down from the sky. He approached the center of the chapel, his expression stoic.

"It is best for you to get off this floating city." Thor said as he gave Wanda a nod. "Stark and I have a plan. Everyone else has boarded."

Without a second thought, Wanda returned the nod and stalked forward out of the chapel. She headed in the direction of the carrier, but of the crash site of Ultron. Her knuckles were white with how tightly she clenched her fists, the anger she was feeling beginning to tip over her own limits.

There came the distorted noise from Ultron as he lay there in a pile of his own parts. Wanda slowly walked up to him, the tears from before now dry. She could feel the surge in energy in her fists as she crouched down to Ultron's battered form, giving it a look of detachment.

"Wanda...you'll die if you stay here." Ultron uttered, having the gal to sound concerned.

"I already have." Wanda said lowly, her voice laced with fury. "Do you want to know what it felt like?"

Not giving the robot a chance to reply, her hand extended towards the machine it's whole body seizing in red. Ultron stiffened before beginning to shake, Wanda's hand pulling back towards herself - with it pulling out Ultron's makeshift heart. The liquid in it's components streamed down her hand as she glared down at the lifeless husk.

"It felt like that." Wanda uttered to herself, her all desire to destroy from the rage, ebbing away.

In its place was a huge gaping hole in her heart that she knew could never be replaced.

The moment she stood, the floating portion of Sokovia shook, making her stumble. As she took in a breath of air, she felt light headed no doubt being so high that the air was thinning. It appeared that Tony Stark and Thor were beginning to carry out their plan.

Wanda sighed to herself, closing her eyes the acceptance of death. She would rather die on the same soil she and her brother were born on than live without him. She felt herself lift into weightlessness as the planet reversed its direction and braced for the arms of death when she felt two arms wrap around her. With a turn of her head, Wanda met the Vision's inquisitive gaze with her lips pressed in a firm line.

"Now is not the time to die. Your brother is on the carrier, Wanda." The Vision said before he flew her away from the now exploding remains of Sokovia.

"Bring me to him."

* * *

He looked at peace. His expression was no longer permanently etched with worry, nor was the smirk he always had present. He simply looked as though he were sleeping.

Wanda gazed down at the lifeless body of Pietro, the sight of him lying across the chairs bringing all of her emotions of anguish come flooding back. She could feel her tears building up as her shoulders shook, a quivering hand reaching to take one of Pietro's in hers. At the contact of warmth against cold, the Maximoff let out a breath of a sob as she knelt down onto the floor. Her weeping was not loud, but rather soft - small shaking breaths escaping her as her tears flowed. Her gaze took in her brother's bullet wounds carefully, her free hand coming up to wipe her face with the fabric of her jacket only to have more stream down her cheeks.

A presence appeared beside her, Wanda already knowing who it was when she glanced up.

"He...he saved me. Pushed me and another kid I was holding out of the way." The man who shot with a bow and arrow quietly said to her. His eyes were filled with sorrow and guilt as he met Wanda's gaze.

Her thoughts went back to when he told her about stepping out of those doors. What it meant to do such a thing.

"Did he become an Avenger as well?" Wanda softly asked as her question surprised the man beside her.

"Yes, he did."

She nodded at his response, breaking her gaze as she stared down at her hand. Her cries had come to small hiccups.

"...What will happen to him?" Wanda asked as the kind man took a seat next to her on the floor. He blinked thoughtfully at the ceiling above them before turning his head to her.

"Well, we'll give him a proper funeral. What's beyond that, I..." He trailed off for a moment, lost in thought which made Wanda's features shift to a curious expression.

"If you're alright with it, you're welcome to take a few days and stay with me and family. We live on a farm, if you can imagine it."

The Maximoff blinked in surprise at the man's offer. Was he pitying her? She decided to take a moment and reach out to what he was feeling and was mentally thrown back when all she felt was a warmth of love and comfort. The feeling reminded her of her and Pietro's linkage - causing her eyes to well up once more.

The calm expression on the man's face shifted to concern as he hesitantly reached up and gently put a hand on Wanda's shoulder.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. It's your choice, Miss...?"

"Wanda." She introduced, wiping her cheeks with the paw of her jacket.

"Clint." He replied with a small warm smile.

* * *

Wanda stood at the grave of her brother, holding an umbrella over her head due to the rain. The funeral ended recently, but she wanted to stay longer, wanting to be in the presence of her brother even though he was gone. She burned the image of his name into her mind, her lips trembling as she felt a wave of loneliness hit her.

As new tears fell, she bent down to touch Pietro's name - her hand getting pelted with rain drops.

"Goodbye, brother." She whispered before staying silent for a few moments. The sound of rain around her became good company as she stood there with her thoughts.

Giving the gravestone one last mental goodbye, Wanda turned around only to pause in her steps.

The Captain stood a few steps behind her with a somber expression. He wore a simple black dress shirt and was also holding an umbrella.

Wanda approached him with a hint of apprehension, pressing her lips together nervously. She had come to terms with the fact that she had planted the idea of Ultron into Tony Stark's mind and was afraid of how his colleagues might react to her becoming an Avenger.

"I'm sorry about your brother. He was a good man." Steve quietly said, his blue eyes dark with anguish.

"...He died protecting someone...Clint told me." Wanda replied as she dropped her gaze to the ground, watching the rain drops hit the pavement.

"Back there in Sokovia...he told me that the moment I stepped through those doors that I was an Avenger." She trailed off as her eyes flicked back to Steve's towering form. She lifted her head to meet his questioning stare.

"I don't think I can become one of you, when all I've done is hurt people." Wanda stated with a hardened gaze as she tried to shield herself from the affirmation that would most likely follow.

"What do you mean you can't become an Avenger, Wanda? You saved those people on Sokovia." His expression molded into confliction as his eyebrows furrowed. A small worried frown adorning his lips.

"Yes, but..."

They stood there in silence, the rain pattering around them taking the place of their words. Steve seemed to know what was on Wanda's mind within that silence.

"You're worried we'll hate you. That we'll cast you out?" Steve hesitantly asked, his tone soft.

Wanda stiffened at his words, hitting right on the dot. Without looking at him, she nodded not confident enough to meet his stare. How could they ever accept her? After what she and her brother had done? She could picture it now - living on the streets again, alone and afraid. Or as some test subject somewhere.

"Wanda, would you please look at me?" came his soft voice, a calmness washing over her torrent of emotions.

Her heart pounded out of anxiety in her chest as she flicked her gaze back to Steve's face. She was surprised to see such a gentle expression in his eyes, that small smile on his lips.

"Everyone on this team has made mistakes. Some have dark, haunting histories and others maybe not so. But if there's one thing that we can all get behind it's this: we're a team and no matter what happens...we'll be there for each other - dark past or not. Everything that we do, we do together." Steve began, the smile on his lips growing slightly as he most likely took in Wanda's speechless gaze.

"So even though not everyone has outwardly said 'welcome to the team' quite yet, just know that you are always welcome with us, Wanda."

Steve's words warmed Wanda's heart, the effect resulting with her tearing up. She raised her head to look up, her hand coming up to swipe her tears away. She was relieved to hear Steve's words, knowing that he likely spoke his thoughts for a majority of the others.

Perhaps these Avengers weren't as bad as she thought.

* * *

**Hello and welcome to this Wanda-centric fic! After seeing Endgame, I fell into the fics of Avengers trying to get over it but look where that got me.**

**Wanda has become my favorite Avenger in the span of about a week and upon finding her scenes in Age of Ultron and CA: Civil War I knew she was someone that I wanted to write about. She was already badass even before I realized how awesome she was so give my girl some love! I absolutely can't wait to see what Marvel does with her in the upcoming Avengers movies!**

**Back to this fic, this is just how I thought Wanda would have processed all that happened to her within Age of Ultron and possibly into Civil War (should I think this can live for a second chapter).**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the read! If you have any scenes you'd like to see with Wanda in it, drop me a request! I love them :) Otherwise, I'll leave this as completed unless I think of something else involving Wanda!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Aftermath**

Wanda should've been aware the entire time. But she hadn't and that cost her.

The chase after Crossbones in Lagos was hectic and insane, the amount of people milling about the market getting to the point of deep congestion. She had managed to get through the crowd just as Steve faced off with the HYDRA operative, noting the grotesque disfigured burns on one half of his face. With a glance around, Wanda noticed the circle of people watching the fight and mentally cursed for they were potential casualties. She had already placed a cautionary tag on herself with what occurred in Sokovia - as had the other Avengers, so being surrounded in such a high tension brawl was not ideal at the moment.

They had the fight contained to that building from before, but now it shifted to the middle of the market that sweltering with the heat.

She pushed past a few onlookers and stumbled into the clearing just to catch Steve frozen to the spot with Crossbones grinning maliciously. The question of why Steve was just standing there surfaced in her mind, observing Crossbones' lips moving. Then she caught the tiny movement of his hand and inhaled sharply as she shoved her hands forward just as he pressed the button.

Wanda grunted in exertion as her powers caught the blast of the bomb in a shell, her hands straining at the strength of the explosion. The force behind it was much more than she expected, and with how she was struggling at the moment, she wasn't confident of how long she would be able to hold it.

She barely registered that Steve whirled around once she caught the blast, no doubt realizing that she had just saved his life. She couldn't focus on trivial things when lives were at stake with the circle around them.

"Wanda, you-"

"The people, Steve! They need to..." Wanda growled out as she furrowed her brow in concentration. She pushed more of her energy from her reserves, her hands shaking as she placed one above the other in an effort to contain it.

Steve, Sam, and Natasha immediately grasped what she was saying and scattered, calling to the crowd of people to run.

When Wanda saw this, her shield containing the blast almost dissipated from the relief that flooded her veins. But with the rest of the team so close by, she caught herself and stared down at what once was Crossbones now enveloped in the blinding light. She had to stop the explosion from hurting absolutely anyone - she owed that to herself. With the overexertion of her powers, Wanda could feel a wetness underneath her nose.

No one had to tell her that it was blood to know.

In her peripherals, she caught a head of red hair and glanced over to see Natasha with a concerned glint in her eye.

"Wanda, everyone has cleared out. It's okay to let it go." Her voice was low and comforting, something that Wanda was grateful for. Romanoff could probably see the fear in Wanda's eyes because her eyes flicked to the growing ball of light and back to her.

"But the blast...?" Wanda shakily replied, her eyes wide as they glowed red.

"It's alright, we'll get cover." Steve said as he walked up to them, Sam right beside him. He lifted shield that was on his arm with a grin.

"Yeah, Wanda. We'll be okay." Sam chimed in as his small contraption Red Wing strapped itself to his back again.

Wanda stared at the three of them for a moment, caught in a decision. With three trusting, reassuring faces looking back at her, she nodded to them and more for herself, sniffing. As she turned her head back to the ball of the contained blast, the rest of the team prepped themselves. Steve crouched low with Natasha and Sam behind his star spangled shield.

Once the Maximoff was certain that her teammates would be alright, she clenched her jaw as she split her hands apart and threw up a shield in front of her. The flare of white light and the fire's heat invaded her vision as it hit her barrier. Its impact almost knocked her unconscious, her knees buckling underneath her as she fell, a hand still out to maintain the shield. She heard Steve grunt at the force of the impact, and Sam calling out her name as she went down.

"Wanda, that was amazing!" Sam exclaimed as he appeared at her side, helping her sit up.

Wanda nodded as she fought to catch her breath, a hand swiping under her nose to wipe the blood away. Steve crouched down in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder, asking if she was okay. With another nod, the Captain gave a smile and turned to see Natasha standing a distance away from them.

"Guys!"

The tone in her voice set the three of them on edge, Wanda most of all. As if the fatigue never hit her, she stumbled to her feet and sprinted over, Steve and Sam keeping pace. When the Maximoff saw what Natasha was looking at, she put a hand to her mouth in shock, her steps faltering.

The explosion appeared to have struck a lone bystander, the wounds on their body bleeding out. She faintly heard a curse from Sam as the authorities were called, Steve rushing over to the injured individual while Natasha's searching gaze found hers.

"No..." Wanda whispered in terror as everything she worked for shattered. Romanoff was then in front of her with her hands on her shoulders, her gaze boring into her head on.

"It's not your fault, Wanda. It's not."

Wanda shook her head slowly, her gaze moving past Natasha's to see the corpse.

But it was.

* * *

The drone of the TV filled Wanda's ears as she stared blankly at it. As she smoothed her hair back with both hands, she sighed and propped a leg up on her bed.

She had done it again. Hurt people.

Her fingertips fiddled with the hem of her shirt as Wanda continued to watch the broadcast. A newscaster, going on about the legal authority that enhanced people like her had. As if that didn't already crush Wanda's spirits, the image of the body lying on the ground flashed behind her eyes every waking second. She glanced at the screen again when she heard _"Wanda Maximoff",_ resulting in her casting her gaze down to her hands.

There was a click behind her and the TV flicked off.

"It's my fault." Wanda quietly said, knowing who was already standing by her bedroom door.

"No, it's not." came Steve's definitive reply. Wanda shifted as a hand came up to cradle her head in her hand.

"Then turn the TV back on." She replied as she turned her head to meet Steve's stare. "They're being _very_ specific."

"I should've seen that bomb vest _way_ before you had to contain it." Steve's gaze hit the floor before he took a few steps in. Wanda's dark stare trained on the black polish on her nails as the Captain took a seat next to her on her bed.

"Rumlow said 'Bucky' and I froze..." he trailed off as he turned his head forward, clasping his hands over his knees. His words caught Wanda's attention, giving the soldier a side glance.

"It's on me."

"It's on both of us." Wanda said almost immediately after, feeling guilty that the Captain was caught in this mess too.

"...Being an Avenger means we try to save as many people as we can." Steve began, his blue eyes focused on Wanda's attentive ones. "Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody, and we have to live with that. Because if we can't, then maybe next time there won't be anyone left to save."

* * *

For the first time in a while, Wanda thought about Pietro. She wondered how he would have been with the Avengers if he were still alive. Would he have loved being a part of a team? A family? Would he have laughed a lot more and found himself a family as he grew old?

She could only let out a wistful sigh as she sat in her plexi-glass cell.

That's right. The fight between Captain America's team and Tony Stark's team happened - all because of those Sokovia Accords. To be monitored by the UN or not.

Ultimately, Steve and his companion Bucky managed to escape - the other four of them (Clint who had returned from retirement, Sam, and a new addition Scott) ending up captured by Stark's group. They led the four of them to a high security containment facility called The Raft that floated in the middle of the sea. All of them were adorned with prison uniforms, save for Wanda who had the utmost pleasure of adding what appeared to be a shock collar to her accessories.

Which obviously angered the four of them. Wanda of course fought back, threats spilling from her lips at the sight of the hunk of metal. Clint called the guards inhumane and had stepped in front of Wanda protectively with Scott and Sam flanked her, all looking mighty pissed.

But they were placed at a disadvantage, for a handful of guards yanked the three men away from her and shoved them into their cells. All the while pressing a button that sprung to life the shackles on her wrists that sent bursts of electricity through Wanda's system, rendering her immobile as she fell to her knees.

It only took a few seconds for them to lock the collar in place.

"No! Wanda!" Sam yelled out as he rammed into the glass, a death glare being sent to the guards that surrounded her.

"You bastards! How could you!" Clint roared, a vein pulsing in anger.

"She's just a kid for Pete's sake! Stop!" Scott exclaimed as a worried fatherly look overcame his features.

Their pleas fell on deaf ears as an emotionless guard grabbed the back of Wanda's uniform and dragged her across the floor painfully, shoving her into her cell. The Maximoff fell into a slump on the floor, breathing hard as she sent daggers back at the guard, her eyes glowing red.

"You're disgusting." Wanda angrily spat out, catching the way the guard's mouth tipped up into a smirk. She narrowed her eyes in fury as she saw his hand come up with a switch between his fingers.

"Pretty witch, you can't hurt me." The guard sneered before he slammed his thumb down on the trigger.

After that, it was an unspoken condition that Wanda wasn't allowed to do _anything_ while being held. That fact infuriated her to no ends, the anger that she only ever felt for Tony Stark and Ultron surfacing once again beneath her skin. The others tried to talk to her though, to let her know that they were there for her.

It was a thoughtful gesture that warmed her heart, bringing Wanda back to when Clint first offered her to stay at his farm.

The memory of it quelled her anger for a moment, letting out a breath as she felt it simmer. That was when Pietro surfaced in her mind once again. The echo of his laugh, his presence, and love came back in such a flood that Wanda's eyes welled with tears. It was then, that she whispered his name in her mind and heard the others yell out in surprise.

"Whoa...Wanda?" Clint uttered after the guys calmed down, appearing wide eyed and a bit freaked out. Wanda stood up from her bed and walked to the glass, catching Clint's questioning look. He gestured to his temple with a finger, all of a sudden making sense.

_Hello? _

Wanda tested it out, her eyes darting from Sam, Scott and Clint to see their mouths drop open. At the sight, she felt a sense of joy - having somehow unlocked yet another ability to her powers.

_Are any of you able to answer me?_

_Y-yes? _

At Scott's hesitant reply, Wanda met his confused gaze with barely suppressed excitement. If she hadn't been imprisoned at the moment, she would've jumped around in celebration. Soon Sam and Clint chimed in with their thoughts, both equally surprised - barely keeping their grins hidden. Wanda was about to say how grateful she was to talk again when Clint and Scott asked her how she was, how her neck was feeling, and whether she felt like sinking the whole facility to the sea floor yet.

The concern and warmth that Wanda felt emanating from the trio brought a small smile to her lips. When she replied that she was doing well now that she was able to speak with them they chuckled, saying they were glad and will happily send the guards to oblivion once they got out.

_Get out? _

_Well yeah, you didn't think we'd stay in here forever did you? Either Cap's going to come back for us, or we break out of here ourselves. _

Wanda gave them a sly smile upon hearing Sam's response and sat back onto her bed, leaning back. She controlled her expression and pulled a soulless kind of look, meanwhile buzzed with excitement within.

_Together? I wouldn't have it any other way._

* * *

**hello again! i hope this made sense, with me jumping around with the time and all. I also decided to change the scene that happened in Lagos and some of the dialogue in the scene after that. Just because it's what I would've wanted to happen in my eyes hehe. **

**let me know your thoughts! This might just stay completed at this point, but we'll see in the future! **


	3. Chapter 3

**The Aftermath**

Their escape plan went like this: the guys would try to get the attention of all the guards while Wanda created a burst of her powers to shatter the box she was caged in and immobilize the guard with the triggers.

So once Wanda ripped apart the cuffs on her wrists, she sent a wave of energy forward and created an opening. As she kept the handful of guards in a hold with one hand, she sent a piece of the door frame to Clint's side. Wanda gave him a nod as he clapped her on the shoulder in thanks and rushed over to the control panel, releasing Scott and Sam.

Wanda's hands shook as the others proceeded to tie them up in a bundle. She hadn't realized how much energy the collar took from her, so when she felt like someone had pulled the plug on her reserves, she dropped to the floor. She had underestimated how much actual strength she had at the moment.

"Wanda!" Scott exclaimed as he crouched next to her, helping her up. Sam was finishing the last knot and Clint had the guards' weapons in his arms.

"I'm alright." Wanda replied softly as she gave him a grateful smile, seeing the man return it kindly. They both stood up just as an alarm started to go off, blaring loudly.

"We gotta go." Sam hurriedly said as he took the handgun that Clint distributed to all of them.

"It's too late, you won't even make it out of this room." One of the guards called out, a sneer in his voice.

"Shut it, before you make me kick you." Clint lowly said, the acid in his voice. His gaze took on a deadly glint.

Wanda narrowed her eyes at the one who spoke, deciding whether to really give him a scare of a lifetime when she suddenly sensed a familiar presence. A smile graced her lips as she heard several muffled sounds of fighting beyond the door.

"Now that has to be Cap, huh?" Scott said as he nudged Wanda's shoulder with a grin.

The door they were all staring at flew off it's hinges as Steve barreled into it with a guard pinned beneath him. When they slid to a stop, the blonde righted himself and dusted his hands off, grinning.

"Hey guys."

* * *

Wanda stared at the herself in the mirror with a tentative gaze on the white bandages wrapped around her neck. Taking refuge in Wakanda after the escape - upon meeting Shuri - they were able to thankfully accelerate the healing process with their advanced tech. King T'Challa even gave the small band of heroes separate rooms to rest and recuperate. She let out a soft sigh as she ran a hand through her hair, the exhaustion of the day beginning to hit her.

A wave of relief struck her as it began to sink in that she wasn't a prisoner anymore, thanks to the plan and their timely rescue. It was nice being with this ragtag team turned family at times. Especially for moments like Nat rushing to her to give her a hug, and Steve muttering about the incredulity those guards put upon her. It really gave her a sense that these were people she could really count on and look up to.

The fact that those guards treated her like a monster didn't even faze her, when Scott, Sam, and Clint were cracking jokes in her head - trying to lighten her mood. The memory put a grin to her lips, her eyes bright in her reflection.

Deciding to explore the area, Wanda pulled on a sweater that Shuri provided when she heard a light knock at her door. She glanced at it with a blink before approaching it. When she opened it she stared silently with a grin at Clint who waved back at her.

"Hey, kiddo. Let's grab some food with the others." He greeted with a quirk of his lips.

* * *

"You're both leaving?" Wanda said with a bit of a whine, saddened by the news. She sat in front of Scott and Clint who were both sipping some freshly brewed tea. She cradled her own mug in her lap as she stared into her tea with a disappointed expression.

"Aw, come on Wanda I have to go see my kids sometime." Clint replied in a light- hearted tone with a smile.

"Yeah, my little girl is waiting for me at home." Scott chimed in as he gave the Maximoff a raise of his mug.

The pout she seemed to make sent a ripple of laughter between the two, making her join in with a giggle. When she raised her head, she rolled her eyes and gave them a sigh.

"Don't be gone too long. I'll start forgetting your faces before you know it." Wanda teased as the two heroes gave her mock offended looks, a smirk stretching across her lips.

Wanda had to admit that she would really miss the two - having created a sort of sibling familiarity between them.

"Aw we'll miss you too, Wanda."

She blinked confusedly at Scott's statement when Clint grinned as he tapped the side of his head. When it clicked, Wanda let out a stutter of embarrassment as the two broke into chuckles in front of her.

* * *

The Maximoff stood at the roof of building accompanied by Steve as they both watched the sun beginning to set a good distance away. Scott and Clint had left a few hours before by quinjet, Wanda having given them almost bone crushing hugs in retaliation for the accidental telepathy.

She had heard of the famed sunsets of Wakanda and had wanted to check it out herself, Steve tagging with an excited expression. When the spectacle began, the two of them let out a sound of awe as they took in the view in a collective appreciative silence.

As the sky grew darker, Wanda noticed that the stars were beginning to pop out, their twinkling almost hypnotizing. She was about to say something to Steve when she suddenly felt such a flurry of emotions emanating from him - confusion, anger, sadness, grief. Wait...grief?

She sent a glance over to the man in question seemingly lost in thought. But then Steve let out a soft breath, the hardened expression he usually wore coming down for a brief second. The turmoil of emotions that simmered beneath his gaze extended to Wanda per her powers. She could easily take a look into his mind, but with what she's cultivated with the rest of the Avengers, she would rather not risk it.

"We've all been through a lot, haven't we?" Steve started, his voice quiet as he followed Wanda's lead and leaned against the rail with her. She could almost hear the slight tremor in his voice and could feel the weight of his words. His shoulders were slumped forward as though he was carrying a heavy load.

"Steve, are you alright?" Wanda gently asked, her brows furrowed in concern. The Captain let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand down his face - his composure beginning to gradually build up once more.

"Yeah...It's rare now when I get to just...relax for a second. Does that make sense?" He replied as he sent a hesitant glance her way, a small relieved smile on his lips. Wanda nodded in return as a look of understanding passed between the two of them.

"Being heroes take a heavy price." Wanda stated, more to herself than to the soldier next to her.

"Now you're learning."

* * *

**hello my lovely readers! Welcome back! This chapter took a little bit longer for me to write out - i felt as though i had lost a bit of my touch while thinking of how to approach the snippets in this one. Hoping that this chapter will receive lots of love in the end. **

**Also, with the conclusion of this chapter it feels as though this wanda-centric fic has come to an end. But since i really love doing drabbles and snippets of characters i adore, i'm open to taking suggestions if people are still interested in reading a product of my writing still hehe. **

**have a lovely day everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Aftermath**

It had been a few weeks since they took refuge in Wakanda. Wanda had a pretty good understanding of her bearings at that point, taking morning runs as a portion of what was left of her training.

"On your left, Wanda."

A blur passed her jogging form, making her involuntarily flinch in shock for a second. Of course it was Steve sprinting away, gradually becoming a dot in the distance. She knew that he was going to pass her again soon - having already done it three times before. She would've yelled something in retaliation but she was too breathless to utter a word. Her time in The Raft had reduced her endurance and stamina considerably.

As a result, she decided to start from the beginning and train to build what she lost. And with that came pleading puppy dog eyes that belonged to Steve, asking Wanda if he could join as a running buddy.

A running buddy? Yeah, right.

Wanda already knew that Steve would lap her back before the events with the Sokovia Accords occurred. They had already been training together at that point. But she had to give the soldier credit where it was due. It invigorated her to hear Steve approaching, making her run all the faster each time.

By the time she reached the beginning of the loop of the track they were on, Steve came up behind her with that hardened gaze on his face. But when Wanda turned around to meet him, he broke into a grin, barely looking as exhausted as she felt.

"You are _not_ a running buddy." Wanda heaved out before handing him a bottle. The blonde chuckled as he accepted it, a look of mirth in his eyes.

"I guess not. But I'm a good motivator!" He replied with a point of the water bottle to Wanda's face.

The Maximoff rolled her eyes and turned to leave the track when she felt a startling presence nearby. The familiarity of it brought her to an edge as her heartbeat sped up. This was...

As if sensing her unease, Steve faced her in second with a hand on her arm.

"Wanda? What's wrong?"

She glanced up at the Captain as a hand came up to clamp over what were once welts and scratches from the shock collar. Steve's blue gaze was attentive to Wanda's every move and when she put her hand on her neck, the man seemed to clench his jaw in protective annoyance.

"It's Vision...he's here with Stark. Why are they here? Are they going to arrest us?" Wanda furrowed a brow in confusion. The anxiety was getting her blood pumping. Would they take her to an even more high security prison? Or was this just a friendly hello?

* * *

When the two of them exited the track and made their way to the common room, Nat and Sam were standing in front of Vision and Tony Stark.

"My apologies for the sudden intrusion. We-"

"I gave you that burner phone for a reason, Tony. To call _us_." Steve interrupted Vision as he put on an unreadable expression to mask his confusion. He stepped closer to Wanda when she stiffened from the accidental eye contact she made with the Stark. She had noticed the billionaire's gaze flick down to her fully healed neck and felt the pang of regret that emanated off him. Regret? Why would the man ever feel regret?

"I brought them here. They called me." Nat stated as all heads turned to her. Wanda blinked at the woman and turned her head back to Vision. His eyes took on that pleading look he had back in the Avengers compound when Wanda was "locked" in her room.

"Nat, why would you...?" Sam trailed off as his gaze turned to Vision who took a step forward.

"We came to apologize. For what happened on The Raft. I swear to you that neither Stark or I had any idea they had placed such extreme measures on Ms. Maximoff like that. We only found out after Stark had gone to the remains of the facility."

A blaze of anger ran through Wanda as she shifted from behind Steve, her lips pulled in a frown.

"That is not true. Stark had visited us while we were in there. He _saw _what they were doing!" She yelled as she tilted her head to the man in question. The look he was giving her had softened from its usual guarded gaze.

"I only spoke to Sam when I was there, Wanda. I swear that to you. I'm truly sorry for what happened in there." Tony quietly said, his stance careful even though he stood a good distance away.

"I can back that up." Sam chimed in as he exchanged glances with Wanda. "It wasn't the most cheerful conversations, but he only spoke to me."

"Then how..." She trailed off as her mind raced and memories of her time in the cell surfaced. Then the realization dawned on her. "The guards."

Wanda lowered her gaze at the revelation, staring hard at the floor with her fists clenched. She didn't think she would ever think about those guards ever again, but here she was doing exactly that.

"Okay," She quietly said, her tone lingering on the edge of venom. Her head lifted as her eyes narrowed at Vision and Stark. "You've apologized. _Now _what do you want? To be a team - a family - again?"

The way Wanda said her words, laced with a bitterness made Natasha glance her way. Wanda knew that the source of her irritation was directed at Stark - for all that he had caused and for being the sole reason of why her and her brother volunteered as HYDRA's experiments in the first place. She knew they never really got to talk over it after the events of Ultron since Stark had gone up and left the compound, but by all that was good, if now was the time to talk about it then they were going to have a chat.

"Wanda." Steve quietly warned from behind, a careful hand on the woman's arm. Aware of how tightly she was clenching her fists, the Maximoff glared at the silent Tony Stark before she let out a sigh.

There was no solving this with pure anger.

"Let us finally chat, Tony Stark." Wanda resignedly said as she turned around and headed back to the track.

* * *

The two of them sat in silence on the bench. Wanda held a water bottle in her hands and Stark fidgeted in his spot, his hands patting at his knees.

"I helped you create Ultron. I placed bad things in all of your minds and for those things, I have already apologized. But you, Tony Stark, helped create what my brother and I had eventually become." Wanda began with some hesitation, noticing the billionaire stiffen at the mention of Ultron.

"My brother and I were young when the bomb hit...one causing our parents to fall to their death, and the other relaying to my brother and I our greatest fear: for Tony Stark to kill us. Your name..." She trailed off in a whisper as the painful memory surfaced in her mind, making her shut her eyes.

"It was on that shell, wasn't it?" Stark said in a remorseful tone.

Wanda felt the pang of regret and grief come off of the man as she sent him a glance. His straight posture from before had crippled and the man was hunched forward now with a downcast look on his face. She hadn't known he could look such a way before.

"Before I put on the suit - hell even before I created the first version of Iron Man - I was a completely different person. You wouldn't have recognized me. I was an ignorant asshole, and only really cared about how much richer I could get - all the while trying not to let my father's legacy get to me." Stark continued as his brows furrowed and memories from another time flooded his vision.

Wanda caught remnants of it - the fear of death and the heat of explosions filled her senses.

"But...after all that's happened, I want to believe that I've become a different person. No one ever becomes truly different, though. We still have our pasts behind us, and sometimes I think that every day something new will pop up, reminding me of the life I had before." He took a breath, his brown eyed gaze laser focused on the pavement of the track.

"I'm sorry, Wanda, truly. To you and your brother. Someone as young as you shouldn't have been involved in something as big as my hot mess."

Tony Stark lifted his stare to meet Wanda's guarded expression. This man held much more than the cocky side she had seen the past few years. He was just as human as she was. The amount of emotions that were shown in his eyes made evident of that. Underneath all of that sarcasm, cockiness and genius was the touch of guilt and blame at himself. It reminded her of how she had been after the events in Lagos.

"You're damn right, Tony Stark." At Wanda's words, his eyes widened in surprise. "But I'm glad to have become a part of your team, in the end."

She lifted a hand between them, the red glow of her powers enveloping her hand. Tony's gaze lingered on the hypnotizing glow of it.

"You all have taught me so much more than I could've ever thought possible."

* * *

"A teacher?" Wanda quizzically asked as she found herself in a familiar situation as before. She sat across Tony Stark with a cup of tea in her hands, him doing the same. The other Avengers sat with them, all eyes trained on the two of them in piqued interest.

"More like a mentor, really. I ran into him while jogging around New York. The man looked like something straight out a comic book, with that red cape and all whipping around. He seemed to know about all of us and what's happened strangely enough. He goes by the name Doctor Strange, though his real name is Stephen." Tony Stark explained as he glanced around the group of heroes surrounding him. They all had very confused expressions on their faces, Wanda most of all.

"And how would he be able to help me?" She inquired before taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, for starters he's a sorcerer."

* * *

**Hi loves! Apologies for the delay on this chapter! It's a short one today hehe. But I plan on updating sooner now that we've somewhat patched things up with Stark and Wanda and are starting to head into Strange and Wanda mentorship territory! I think it would be awesome if they could do this canon!**

**Reviews are always welcome!**


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